FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Wednesday to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder. The attempted first-degree murder charges are for those wounded and survived.
Cruz, 23, was present in the courtroom as the names of the victims were read by the judge in the Feb. 14, 2018, attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Cruz responded “guilty” to each name read.
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A penalty trial, expected to begin in January, will determine if Cruz receives life in prison or Florida’s death sentence.
The first-degree murder charges each carry a minimum sentence of life in prison while the attempted murder charges each carry a minimum sentence of 20-25 years in prison.
17 counts of first-degree murder for the killings of:
Count 1: Luke Hoyer
Count 2: Martin Duque
Count 3: Gina Montalto
Count 4: Alex Schachter
Count 5: Alaina Petty
Count 6: Alyssa Alhadeff
Count 7: Nicholas Dworet
Count 8: Helena Ramsay
Count 9: Christopher Hixon
Count 10: Carmen Schentrup
Count 11: Aaron Feis
Count 12: Scott Beigel
Count: 13 Meadow Pollack
Count 14: Cara Loughran
Count 15: Joaquin Oliver
Count 16: Jaime Guttenberg
Count 17: Peter Wang
17 counts of attempted murder for seriously wounding:
Count 18: Ashley Baez
Count 19: William Olson
Count 20: Kheshava Mangapuram
Count 21: Justin Colton
Count 22: Alexander Dworet
Count 23: Genesis Valentin
Count 24: Daniela Menscal
Count 25: Samantha Grady
Count 26: Samantha Fuentes
Count 27: Isabel Chequer
Count 28: Samantha Mayor
Count 29: Benjamin Wikander
Count 30: Madeline Wilford
Count 31: Marian Kabachenko
Count 32: Stacey Lippel
Count 33: Anthony Borges
Count 34: Kyle Laman